Best cross country ship class

I still own and have many cross-country flights out west in a D2. It's probably the sweetest thermalling ship I've ever owned. Full of water, it will hold its own with most 15-meter ships. The cross-country performance is more likely to be limited by the pilot than the ship.

Having said that, I will agree with others who have recommended flaps. Aero-tow with a fully-ballasted D2 is hairy if you have a weak or slow tug and I sure miss the flaps from my previous ASW-20 when it comes to landing in short spaces.

Mike

Love my LAK-17a.

My stable has included one ship without flaps and 4 with:

Mosquito B
AS-W 19b
LS-6a
LS-6a (love those LS ships, too!)
LAK-17a


wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, October 16, 2013 7:05:02 AM UTC-7, wrote:
Good feedback.
Here is where I am now:

Discus 2b

ASW-27

You missed the LAK-17A, with 15M tips I didn't have any trouble staying with
(and frequently outrunning) '27s, comes with polyurethane paint which will
outlast the gelcoat on most '27s, you can get one for less than the cost of
a decent '27, and you'll get a set of 18M tips for free...

Great feedback, guys.

Based on this and word from my club mates, the guidance seems clearly on the side of flapped.

Given this, I've decided to pass on the very sweet, pristine Discus 2b Richard is selling in Colorado. It's one of the nicest used ships I've ever seen. A couple from my club happened to be in Colorado and had a look. They report its a great ship and really enjoyed talking to Richard.

So, now I'm really down to WHICH awesome 15m flapped ship.
Ventus 2 - (can't find one in my budget at the moment)
ASW 27 - (of the two on wings and wheels, one has sold and the other one is not responsive to my info requests)

Aside from the LAK, should there be other flapped, 15m ships in the $70k or less range I should be looking at?

On Wednesday, October 16, 2013 5:23:52 PM UTC-6, wrote:
Great feedback, guys.



Based on this and word from my club mates, the guidance seems clearly on the side of flapped.



Given this, I've decided to pass on the very sweet, pristine Discus 2b Richard is selling in Colorado. It's one of the nicest used ships I've ever seen. A couple from my club happened to be in Colorado and had a look. They report its a great ship and really enjoyed talking to Richard.



So, now I'm really down to WHICH awesome 15m flapped ship.

Ventus 2 - (can't find one in my budget at the moment)

ASW 27 - (of the two on wings and wheels, one has sold and the other one is not responsive to my info requests)



Aside from the LAK, should there be other flapped, 15m ships in the $70k or less range I should be looking at?

Well, I owned a HPH 304CZ for 7 years and it is a great ship that you may want to also consider. It is also in your $70K price range. Thx - Renny

When I was shopping for my first (and only) glider last year, it was just like discovering girls back in high school. I fell in and out of love with four different ones over a period of six months.

I'm glad I took some time to sort that out.

LS6 would be a really good shout. You may find one of the later models (LS6
b or C it think?) which would also give the 18 meter tips. Not to sure
about the cost though. In early 15 meter should be well within budget.

It has already been mentioned, but the DG tax ought to be a consideration,
although not a deterrent. LS gliders are some of the most lovely gliders to
fly. I have not flown a 6, but have 300 hours in the 8.




At 23:23 16 October 2013, wrote:
Great feedback, guys.

Based on this and word from my club mates, the guidance seems clearly on
th=
e side of flapped. =20

Given this, I've decided to pass on the very sweet, pristine Discus 2b
Rich=
ard is selling in Colorado. It's one of the nicest used ships I've ever
se=
en. A couple from my club happened to be in Colorado and had a look.
They=
report its a great ship and really enjoyed talking to Richard.

So, now I'm really down to WHICH awesome 15m flapped ship.
Ventus 2 - (can't find one in my budget at the moment)
ASW 27 - (of the two on wings and wheels, one has sold and the other one
is=
not responsive to my info requests)

Aside from the LAK, should there be other flapped, 15m ships in the $70k
or=
less range I should be looking at?

On Wednesday, October 16, 2013 10:07:41 PM UTC-6, Echo wrote:
This sport confuses me............

Jordan

CFIG+ASW20
Don't think too much into this. Go back to my previous post. If a guy is going to end up with a 27 or a V2 B/Cx why not just start with one. I agree the 20 is a great 35K ship and the 27 is a great 80K ship. On most afternoons I can fly a 300 in my 27 faster than my former 20. And it is easier to rig and more relaxing to fly.

The problem with these kinds of posts on RAS is that you will always get a very contradictory response. Everyone has their preference and opinion. Read what you see here, do your own research about the ships mentioned, formulate your own opinion after everyone has said their piece, and do some more research to find the technical/handling details of the ship you are interested.

In the end, no matter what you buy, you will be able to learn to fly it, and I have no doubt that you will enjoy flying it. It takes a lot of flying for someone to outgrow an airplane.

Enjoy and good luck!

Phil

If you can afford it, to my mind, the biggest factors that would
sway me in favour of an ASW27 over an ASW20 are, firstly, the
great improvement in cockpit crashworthiness and, secondly,
having an automatically connecting elevator on rigging.

The front cockpits of all the early GRP gliders are basically
streamlining fairings that simply disintegrate on impact.

There have been numerous reports of gliders with hotelier
connected elevators being launched with the elevator
disconnected. I knew one pilot who was killed that way when
flying in Europe. The problem isn't so much with hoteliers
themselves as it is with a pilot simply forgetting to connect them
and then compounding that by forgetting to do proper positive
control checks.

John Galloway

I think 20B's or C's have auto elevators. Very expensive mod for the 20A.

Jordan